– Shrigley Tweets Against Basel Blackout of Bin Laden Art: At the end of May, outspoken artist David Shrigley revealed, via his Twitter, a drawing that he said his gallery Stephen Friedman refused to show in its Art Basel booth. The cartoon image of Osama bin Laden bears the caption, "He believed he was doing the right thing." The Tweet, which has since been deleted (but is still on his Facebook), read: "My gallery decided not to show this at Basel for fear of offending Americans." According to other posts, Shrigley seems to have been searching through his drawings to find alternative pieces, though he still doubts the gallery will like what he has to offer. [TAN]
– Ray Bradbury's Hometown Plans a Museum: Waukegan, Illinois is hoping to dedicate a space in a planned visitors center — to be housed in a long-shuttered library — to late science fiction author (and sometimes painter, poet, and architecture consultant) Ray Bradbury. "Ray Bradbury put Waukegan in many ways on the map," said his biographer Sam Weller. "There really should be some sort of place that will house his things, that could bring people from around the world to reflect on his legacy." [Chicago Tribune]
– Rome's Trevi Fountain in Trouble: Italian monuments just can't catch a break — or stop breaking. After a recent earthquake decimated a church and castle, Rome's iconic Trevi Fountain has emerged as the latest casualty. Part of the beloved landmark and tourist attraction has been wrapped in scaffolding after stucco reliefs fell off its façade on Saturday. [Guardian]
– Art Exhibition Causes Riots in Tunis: Tension over art continues to boil over in Tunisia. The latest is that hundreds of conservative Salafi Islamists forced their way into an art exhibition outside the capital today, defacing a series of artworks they deemed offensive to Islam. They blocked streets and set tires alight in the neighborhood, clashing with police who fired bullets into the air. It is unclear if anyone has been hurt. [iOL News]
– Dasha Zhukova is at the Center of a Culture Clash: The glamorous art patron, who is attempting to bring Russian museums into the 21st century with her Rem Koolhaas-designed contemporary art space Garage in Moscow's Gorky Park, is, for some, a symbol of the tension between the old and new Russia. "We’ve had this problem with a split identity for centuries, ever since Peter the Great tried to Europeanize the country," she said. "Garage is just a small step." [Daily Beast]
– Klein Triple-Header at Christie's: After setting a new record for the artist last May, Christie's is offering three more works by Yves Klein, all dating from the 1960s, in London this June. Among the offerings are the largest pink sponge relief ever created by the artist and an ultramarine blue sponge relief previously owned by Lucio Fontana. [AMM]
– Philadelphia Plans Revolutionary New Museum: Designs have been revealed for the $150-million, Robert A.M. Stern-designed Museum of the American Revolution, which is scheduled to open in Philadelphia in 2015. The institution, which had to be moved from its original intended location in Valley Forge National Historical Park following a dispute with the National Park Service, will take shape in Philly's central historic district, right across the street from the First Bank of the United States. [NYT]
– Art Spiegelman Joins Occupy Comics: The anthology Occupy Comics, which has provided graphic comic book artists with a platform to articulate the concerns of the Occupy movement, has gained perhaps the most famous living graphic novelist: "Maus" creator Art Spiegelman. "I’m proud to be included in this book," Spiegelman said. "Occupy is the seismograph of things to come." [Wired]
– Picasso Stolen by Teenagers Recovered: The party's over. Police have recovered a Picasso lithograph worth an estimated $30,000 that was stolen from the California mansion of former Ukranian prime minister Pavlo Lazarenko during a rowdy, illegal rager thrown by a group of teenagers. Authorities believe the teens were spooked by all of the press attention and left the artwork propped up against a fence "to be found" on a busy thoroughfare. [KTVU]
– The Wealthy Buy Art Because They Like It: Really, really rich people (also known as "High Net Worth Individuals") collect art and other treasure — like jewelry, wine, and cars — primarily for pleasure, according to a new study. Only 21 percent of the 2,000 people surveyed said they accrued treasure purely for investment purposes. [Spears, Bloomberg]
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